Tainted Blossom
by Yopu is Crying
Summary: "You're my cherry blossom, yeah, you're about to bloom. You look so pretty but you're gone so soon!"-[FOB, Centuries] If there's one thing that Scarlett knows, it's that she doesn't have time. [MC/OCx?]
1. Impulses

It was on an impulse.

That was the only explanation Scarlett Chae could come up with as to why there was a new app on her phone. Not just any app though, a _dating simulator_ app. The only kind of app she would even remotely consider downloading via an impulse. Perhaps she really was desperate enough to have gone this far for a game. Or maybe she just wanted something that would kill her time between work and those long, sleepless hours of the night. In the end it all circled back to just that one thing: an impulse.

Even now the icon stared up at her, screaming impulse decisions with its classic usage of an attractive red-headed male. She couldn't help but feel connected with the crimson haired mascot on some basic relatable level. The way he gazed tiredly at his phone, as if he had been up all night surfing various social medias and whatnot, was something she could identify with quite easily. Lately she has either been sleeping for too long, or not all, with hardly any happy medium to compensate for her exhaustion.

Well… Hopefully this game would provide her with a little bit of entertainment. Dating simulators weren't really her thing, as they always felt too cliched and unoriginal. Not to mention that the MC was usually a helpless damsel, which she deeply despised to her very core, and always seemed to have this MarySue approach to solving problems. But impulses were a hazardous thing when boredom reigns supreme. She could always just get rid of it and find something else if it came right down to it.

With a resigned sigh Scarlett clicked on the app and patiently waited for everything to load, then went through the process of "joining" the R.F.A by submitting her email to create an account. She had to give Cheritz props for going the extra mile to give it a realistic vibe. Now to see if they could pull through the rest of the way.

Scarlett stood up from her couch as she hit a downloading session in the game, maneuvering around furniture to go stand on her balcony and enjoy the crisp night air. She leaned against the railing, facing the adjacent apartment complex from her own. The music on her phone got a little bit louder and saw that it asked for her to select a profile picture and input a username. After flipping through the built in icons, none of which fit her taste, she went into her own photo album and chose her favorite; a side view of a girl with long hair and a red scarf. When she was satisfied with both her username and profile picture, Scarlett clicked the okay button.

The screen went black for only one moment, before being plunged into a swirling world of code. Scarlett almost dropped her phone; the graphics of this game actually looked like she had accidentally managed to download a virus, and it gave her heart an unexpected jump start. Despite the small fright she couldn't help but grin a little. Finally, a game that seemed to hold some potential.

The code stopped.

 **\- Unknown has entered the chatroom -**

 **Unknown:** _...Hello?..._

A little answer box blinked at the bottom of the screen and she clicked it, expecting pre-made answers for her to choose from. What she wasn't expecting, but found it thoroughly pleasing regardless, was the option to input her own answer.

"Finally, a chance to have a sensible conversation with fictional characters," she muttered with a smirk. She quickly set into sending in a response.

 **Lumikki:** _Hi_

 **Unknown:** _Can you see this?_

 **Lumikki:** _Wouldn't be responding otherwise._

 **Unknown:** …

 **Unknown:** _I'm sure you're surprised._

 **Unknown:** _ **It's not everyday that you get a text from a stranger.**_

Scarlett snorted. It wasn't everyday she played a dating sim game either. Guess the world was going topsy turvy.

 **Unknown:** _I'm a bit flustered myself. I found a smartphone at the subway station, but all it had was this messenger app._

 **Unknown:** _I want to find the owner, but I don't see any contact info or call records…_

 **Lumikki:** _Sounds like a burn phone lol_

 **Unknown:** _A burn phone?_

 **Lumikki:** _Yeah, you know, a disposable phone. Like the kind you see in all sorts of crime movies and stuff. They're supposed to be untraceable. Leave no evidence and all that._

 **Unknown:** _Oh… well… I've been sending messages with this app but no reply…_

 **Unknown:** _All I see is an address and some important looking numbers saved in some notes._

 **Unknown:** _I'd like to go there myself, but I'm currently abroad…_

 **Lumikki:** _Welp, sucks for you buddy._

 **Lumikki:** _And, uh, if you didn't find any contacts, yet you found important looking numbers saved in the notes, wouldn't that be kinda contradicting?_

 **Unknown:** _I suppose it would sound that way coming from a stranger like myself_

 **Unknown:** _but these don't look like phone numbers._

 **Unknown:** _They're more like digits you'd use to unlock something._

 **Lumikki:** _Oookay then. Anyways, gonna introduce yourself? Maybe? Possibly?_

 **Unknown:** _ **Me? Oh sorry.**_

 **Unknown:** _I'm just a student studying abroad. I'm Korean._

 **Unknown:** _I could tell you my name, but it doesn't really matter._

 **Lumikki:** _Uh, hold up. Yes it kind of does._

 **Unknown:** _ **You won't find me on search engines ^^;**_

 **Lumikki:** _Avoiding the question; check. So far you're results are leading up to questionable creepy person! Hope this is the kind of character you wanted to be._

 **Unknown:** _ **You are a very difficult person to converse with.**_

 **Lumikki:** ◔ ⌣ ◔ _What on earth could have given that away? Was it one of the sarcastic comments I've made?_

 **Unknown:** (ㅍ_ㅍ)

 **Unknown:** _ **Anyways…**_

 **Unknown:** _Can you help me find the owner of this phone? I know that I appear to be a "creepy person", as you've so eloquently put it, but still…_

 **Unknown:** _ **I'd appreciate it if you could help.**_

By this point Scarlett was laughing. Despite her hardest efforts to bait the AI into veering off topic it did its damn near best to stick to whatever programmed script it had. For a dating game, it sure was entertaining.

 **Lumikki:** _Alright, alright. What can I do for ya?_

 **Unknown:** _Um… I'd like for you to go the address that's saved on here._

 **Unknown:** _I know the area. It's developed and really safe._

 **Lumikki:** _Well, spit it out._

 **Unknown:** _You trust me…_

 **Unknown:** _ **Thank you!**_

 **Lumikki:** _Let's not confuse trust for curiosity now…_

 **Lumikki:** _I mean, I can totally go back on this at anytime you know._

 **Unknown:** _Right…_

 **Unknown:** _Just a sec and I'll send you the address_

 **Unknown:** _Here it is._

 **Unknown: -Address Link-**

She tapped on the glowing yellow link and was surprised to see an actual address appear. A frown slipped down her face easier than a silken nightgown as she studied the location. It was uncannily close to where she was now…

Scarlett looked up from her phone, her eyes slowly, almost unwillingly, traveling up the adjacent building to gaze upon its name. For several seconds she glanced between the phone screen and what was literally right in front of her. Somewhere in the uncharted depths of her mind alarm bells were ringing. Along with those bells she couldn't help but be reminded of Star Wars, of all the things to remember at a time like this, and how the one alien dude had very amusingly stated the obvious. " _It's a trap!"_

Yet the curiosity was beginning to outright nag at her desires. Why would Cheritz use a real address? Was it a coincidence it was so close to her? What if someone that was actually a part of the Cheritz team lived in that building? Was this supposed to be some sort of real life interactive Easter Egg? Did this game even _have_ Easter Eggs? She wasn't really sure of that last part, as she had made it a priority to avoid whatever hype there might have been about this game as much as possible. Being so close to some unknown possibility… It was almost _surreal_.

Her decision was made on an immediate impulse.

 **Lumikki:** _I'll be over there soon._

 **Unknown:** _Really? Thank you so much!_

 **Lumikki:** _Don't thank me just yet. Curiosity and lack of impulse control are the driving force behind this decision, not you._

Turning on her heel, Scarlett left her balcony and hurried to collect her purse and jacket before slipping on a pair of comfortable sneakers. Within minutes she was out of her apartment and streetside before she could stop to think twice about her decision. After checking both ways and finding the coast clear, she ran across the street and slipped as quietly as a breathless person could into the opposing building.

The first thing that hit her was the scent of disinfectant. She wrinkled her nose and continued forward at a moderate pace. The walls of the spacious hallway were an off white, with an ashen-beige carpet to subtly compliment it. At the far end was an elevator, and after a quick check from her phone she knew that she needed to go up. Beside it was an opening to a stairwell. As she carried on walking the length of the hall she couldn't help but shiver. This place felt too formal. Almost like the quietest parts of a hospital…

Scarlett shook her head, lightly flinging chocolate colored hair from side to side, and hurried upstairs before she started to seriously doubt her decision making skills. When she reached the designated apartment she was greeted by a high-tech looking lock.

 **Lumikki:** _Okay I'm here, now what?_

 **Unknown:** _Is there a password lock on the door?_

 **Lumikki:** … _Yeah. Kinda weird that you'd know that, but okay, continue._

 **Unknown:** _It's just a guess. Here are the digits, try it._

 **Lumikki:** _Haha, you've gotta be joking. Why would I just punch in some random digits without knocking first? I don't know about you, but I'd be freaked out if some stranger just walked into my_ _ **secured**_ _apartment._

 **Unknown:** _Fair point. Try knocking then._

"Boy, aren't you just a straightforward kind of guy. Can't tell if that's admirable or just downright suspicious."

Scarlett looked at the door, deliberating. What if she was making a mistake? Sure, she could always apologize and blame it on the game, but the embarrassment afterwards… _Ugh._ Of course, in her line of work she was trained to take embarrassment and shove a cork in it, but that didn't stop her from _feeling_ it. Humiliation was something that, if left to sit inside of her, could and most likely would make her sick.

But if she just sat out her waiting for herself to make a decision while looking like an idiot…

Her arm made up her mind for her, raising itself to knock her knuckles firmly against the cool metal. After an intense moment of waiting she came to the conclusion that no one was home.

 **Lumikki:** _No one's home._

 **Unknown:** _Now will you try the digits?_

 **Lumikki:** _I don't know. I was thinking I might stop and grab a sandwich before I did anything like that. You want something?_

 **Unknown:** _ **Please be serious for a moment!**_

 **Unknown:** _All you need to do is go inside and leave my info for the owner of the phone and that's it._

 **Lumikki:** _But what good will your info do if your name isn't even relevant to me? lol_

 **Unknown: (╬≖** **ิ** **_≖)**

 **Unknown:** _Why are you so insistent on being difficult?_

 **Lumikki:** _lololol why are there so many holes in your story?_

 **Unknown:** _Will you just enter the passcode?_

 **Lumikki:** _Fiiiiiinnneee_

 **Lumikki:** _Geez what are you? My mom? You've got the same patience as she did when I tried to get out of doing the dishes you know._

 **Unknown:** _That poor woman._

 **Lumikki:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ _What can I say? I was an angel._

 **Unknown:** _More like a devil._

 **Unknown: -Link-**

A long, heavy sigh passed between her lips. Maybe this place was just a checkpoint. This game could possibly be interactive, like Pokèmon Go or something…

"What am I even doing?" she muttered, punching in the digits. There was a faint click and she grabbed the handle, twisting and pulling it open wide enough to allow her entrance. Beyond the door was a large room. There was no wall separating the kitchen from the living area, and alongside the left wall was what looked like a mildly untamed office area. The cream colored couches were big, firm looking, and adorned with orange puffy looking pillows. All in all it was a very nice looking place.

 **Lumikki:** _I'm in. All I have to do is leave a note, right?_

 **Unknown:** _Yes._

 **Unknown:** _Th_

 **Unknown:** _ank_

 **Unknown:** _you…_

The screen flashed with a wall of code and a high pitched sound wailed from her phone. Startled, Scarlett dropped the device. She watched in mute horror as her phone went beserk before shutting off completely.

"What the fu-," She caught herself when it turned back on. Suddenly she was in a chatroom different from the first. Quietly kneeling down, Scarlet observed the action transpiring on her phone.

 **\- Lumikki has entered the chatroom -**

 **Yoosung:** _Failed my midterm fml T_T_

 **Yoosung:** (ಥ_ಥ)

 **707:** _ **Cuz u played LOLOL all night lol.**_

 **Jumin Han:** _If you want to work for our company, you should take care of your GPA._

It didn't take very long for the confusion to set in. And the moment the people in the chat had begun arguing about the difference between nepotism and recruitment she had clocked out. Of course she knew what the difference was between the two, strange words were kind of her thing and actually pretty interesting, but a petty argument like this was anything but.

She briefly studied the icons of the individual commenters, only recognizing the one with the username _707_. His profile picture here was just as moody looking as the picture for the game's icon was. But it was hard to deny that he wasn't all that bad in the looks department. The few emoji's he sent through were kind of cute too.

Scarlett tentatively picked up her phone and stood, glancing around the room. Although her initial thought of the place had been that it looked nice, she could now see that it actually hadn't been used in a while. What kind of trap had she walked into?

"You and your impulses." She shook her head as she berated herself, turning in a complete circle to take everything in. To the right she noticed two doors; one she assumed led to a bedroom and the other to a bathroom. Before she got too carried away with everything, though, she made sure to check how the conversation was moving along on her phone.

 **Jumin Han:** _Why is a stranger in our chatroom?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _No one can enter this chatroom without installing the private app we use… It seems someone has downloaded the RFA Messenger._

Quick as a bolt of lightning, she jumped to respond.

 **Lumikki:** _Yeah, hi there. Here's the thing- I did download an app, but it was supposed to be for a game called Mystic Messenger. Idk what this is, your chatroom just appeared after my phone got done being possessed by some sort of demonic spirit or something._

 **Yoosung:** _ **GAHH IT'S TALKING!**_

 **Yoosung:** ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ

 **Lumikki:** _Dude… chill._

 **Jumin Han:** _Who is it?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _How did you find out about this place? Where did you download the application?_

 **707:** _ **Oh… ^^; Wait.**_

 **707:** _Just found something. This is weird._

 **Zen:** _What is it. Hurry and tell me._

 **707:** _I traced the IP…_

 **707:** _ **It's from Rika's apartment.**_

 **Lumikki:** _Hey, uh, could you maybe not tell this Rika person that I came into their apartment? I promise that I didn't touch anything and I'll get out of here right quick and pretend like this never happened._

 **Lumikki:** _Heck, I'll even delete this app simply because I think it might have implanted some sort of virus on my phone… Gonna have to get that checked out…_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I assume this to be a confession that you did indeed break into the apartment?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Mr. Han, should I notify the authorities?_

 **Lumikki:** _ **No!**_

 **Lumikki:** _Look, I was led to this apartment by some 'Unknown'. He gave me the address and passcode to get in. I just thought that it was all a part of the game._

 **Zen:** _Lumikki, you keep mentioning a game. How did you get this game?_

 **Lumikki:** _App Store, duh._

 **707:** _Hold on Lumikki. Don't delete anything yet. We need all the facts here._

 **Yoosung:** _Seven are you hacking into the stranger's stuff?_

 **Lumikki:** (◡ ‿ ◡✿)

 **Lumikki:** (ʘ ‿ ʘ✿) _I'm sorry, what was that?_

 **707:** _lol there's no proof that I'm doing that lololol_

 **Lumikki:** (≖_≖) _That is a terrible lie…_

 **707:** _T_T so suspicious lol_

 **Zen:** _The lol's certainly don't help your cause…_

 **707:** _lol I know_ _（ ∂_ _ω ∂ )_

Scarlett closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. What had started out as something fairly amusing was now turning into the beginnings of a migraine. It was like she was surrounded by brilliant people with the tendency to be stupid only when they were around her. Yet _another_ reason to dislike dating games. But could this even be considered a game anymore?

She chanced a peek at her phone again and saw that there had been some sort of small discussion pertaining to what a ' _log'_ meant in technical lingo. It was enough to force her to thoroughly rub her eyes, pushing in just a little too hard. Scarlett glanced at the couch and thought about what a good idea it would be to sit down before she did something stupid pertaining to her health.

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Everyone please calm down. Let's look at the situation at hand._

 **707:** _Hmm. Good point, Jaehee._

 **Lumikki:** …

 **Lumikki:** (ㅍ_ㅍ) _hmmmm_

 **Zen:** _Is something the matter, Lumikki?_

 **Lumikki:** _Yeah it's called thinking and giving myself a headache._

 **Jumin Han:** _Fierce._

 **Zen:** _Are you a woman?_

 **Lumikki:** _omg can we not get into that right now?_

Yes, now it was all coming back to her just what else it was she didn't like about otome games…

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I think it would be a good idea to call V._

 **707:** _Yeah I think that's a good idea._

 **Lumikki:** _K you guys do that, I'm gonna go home and give myself some advil…_

 **707:** _Sorry Lumikki, but could you just stay where you're at for now?_

 **Lumikki:** _Oh you've gotta be kidding me._

 **707:** _Nopesorrytypingwithonehandhere_

 **Zen:** _Finish talking to V and then talk with us!_

A slow pulse was building up at the base of her skull. When she had woken up today, or really more like when she had stopped trying to doze off, the last scenario she had expected to wind up in was… whatever _this_ was. In fact, she hadn't even come _close_ to imagining a scenario like this at all! Of course she never did think to factor in how boredom and impulses would work together either. Perhaps she should write a book and title it: ' _Impulses and How They Get You Into Trouble'_.

While she fantasized about the money she could make off a book like that, the chatroom buzzed with activity.

 **V:** _I'm already logged in._

 **707:** _Oh, V! You're here ^_^_

 **Zen:** _Finally he's here._

 **V:** _Yeah. I guess I'm the last to know about this._

 **Jumin Han:** _Oh well._

 **707:** _I told him everything through the phone._

Whatever everything even entailed. She wondered if that also meant the stuff he supposedly hacked into. Scarlett hoped not. There were some things she didn't want strangers, or even people close to her, to know about. Some things she wished that even she didn't know. Particularly about her… _condition._

 **V:** _Do not ask Lumikki about it and Lumikki, please do not reveal the address._

 **Lumikki:** _Huh? What? Oh yeah sure, no problem._

 **Zen:** _lol Lumikki were you zoned out?_

 **Lumikki:** _Source?_

 **707:** _lol_

 **Yoosung:** _lol_

 **Lumikki:** _Anyways, now that you know what's going on, can I go home now?_

 **V:** _I'm sorry, but not until we get everything sorted out. We still have to gather more information on this Unknown person and make sure that you and all of the important things in Rika's apartment are safe._

 **Lumikki:** _Aaand how long is this supposed to take?_

 **V:** _I'm not sure. It might be possible that Rika knew this Unknown and he was just trying to carry out one of her final wishes._

 **V:** _Rika… had a deep world of her own, so anything is possible._

 **Lumikki:** _You… you keep talking about this Rika in the past tense. Is she…?_

 **Lumikki:** _And, um, sorry if I'm being insensitive by prying._

 **V:** _No, it's fine._

 **V:** _Rika… passed away a year and a half ago._

 **Lumikki:** _Oh… I'm sorry._

Scarlett looked around. She had broken into a dead person's house. A _dead person's house._

 **V:** _I believe that maybe… Maybe Rika wanted someone like you to continue her work._

 **Lumikki:** _Um… work?_

 **707:** _ **Hosting parties?!**_

 **Lumikki:** _HA! What a coincidence…_

 **Yoosung:** _﴾_ _͡_ _๏_ _̯͡_ _๏﴿_ _?_

 **Lumikki:** _Look, I've already got a job in a catering business. I don't know if I'd be able to do any of Rika's work too._

 **707:** _Well, since you'll be stuck in Rika's apartment until the green light then you should help out with us anyways!_

 **V:** _Besides, you're practically in the same boat as us because of this messenger app._

 **Lumikki:** ಠ_ಠ

 **Lumikki:** _So in other words I don't have much of a choice._

 **Jumin Han:** _For the time being, it seems._

 **V:** _Lumikki, I know this seems really sudden, but will you please consider it?_

Scarlett stared at his plea. There was something saddeningly desperate about it. Perhaps she was reading into it too much, but as she watched the other people in the chatroom fire away their opinions, it was very hard not to think that way. Whoever this Rika person had been, she had been very important to these people. And they were desperate enough to feel her in anyway they could, even if it was through a stranger like herself.

What had started out as fun and games, literally, had suddenly become one of the few realest moments she had ever faced. The decision should have been one of the easiest to make; she was a stranger that had no business entertaining the affairs of other people. She had her own life to bother with, her own job to do, and problems to deal with. But the morally righteous part of her refused to go down without a fight. When the game had clearly stopped being a game Scarlett had been thrust amongst real people and asked for real help. And with as lost as these people seemed…

Her sigh seemed to echo around the cavernous room.

 **Lumikki:** _Alright._

 **Yoosung:** _Huh?_

 **Lumikki:** _I'll help out with this party thing or whatever._

 **Yoosung:** _Really?! You'd do that for us?_

 **Jumin Han:** _A direct answer._

 **Jumin Han:** _I like it._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Are you sure though? Wasn't that a bit too sudden?_

 **Lumikki:** _Really? Cause I'm pretty sure I zoned out long enough for the Zen dude and Mr. Cat-Guy to have another argument and…_

 **Lumikki:** _The Yoosung person to get angry with the boss V_

 **Zen:** _Zen dude?_

 **Jumin Han:** _Mr. Cat-Guy?_

 **Lumikki:** _Yes._

 **Lumikki:** _Anyways, I'll join your group and find a way to balance this around my job and other… things._

 **V:** _Lumikki, thank you for doing this, and again I apologize for how sudden all this is happening._

 **707:** _Your replies are getting later._

 **V:** _Yeah, sorry. I have to go now. I'll get back to you guys with details for the party when I can._

 **V:** _Seven, will you take care of the rest?_

 **707:** _Of course, already on it._

 **V:** _Well, goodbye then._

 **\- V has left the chatroom -**

 **Lumikki:** _...Can I just take my leave right now too?_

 **Jumin Han:** _We'll need to explain what the RFA is, and just what is expected of you, Lumikki._

 **Jumin Han:** _Assistant Kang_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Sir, with all do respect, can we really just induct a stranger into the group? I understand that most everyone here trusts and respects what V says, but I find this difficult to grasp and accept._

 **Lumikki:** _Seconded, honestly._

 **Lumikki:** _And look, I promise I'll be back tomorrow. So you can explain everything to me then, but right now I really need to go. My head hurts and it's hard to see my phone screen._

And it wasn't a lie. The migraine that had been developing had fully bloomed at the base of her skull and was wracking her head with a throbbing pain that nothing weak like an advil could kill. It wasn't the worst that she had endured, but when the screen started blurring and dividing into two she knew she needed to wrap things up.

 **Zen:** _It is late. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow. Headaches are caused by an overload of stress, and stress produces lines. We wouldn't want to ruin Lumikki's gorgeous face!_

 **Lumikki:** _...but you don't even know what I look like._

 **Zen:** _Doesn't mean you aren't beautiful ;)~_

 **Lumikki:** _Oh, well… Thanks I guess?_

 **Lumikki:** _Anyways, I'm gonna leave. No stoppin me now!_

 **\- Lumikki has left the chatroom -**

 **707:** _Wait!_

 **707:** _Damn, she left so fast brb_

 **\- 707 left the chatroom -**

Scarlett closed her eyes and hung her head. Whatever trap it was that she herself had just personally gotten entangled with, it wasn't going to end well. For however long it would be that she'd have to work with these people she'd always have to keep them at an arm's length away. If she risked getting close to them somehow… Well, it wouldn't be fair to them. They've already lost one person they cared about.

Standing up, she readied herself to leave, slinging the strap of her purse over her shoulder and making a move towards the door. Before she could get in a full step, however, her phone rang. A squeaky " _Yipe!_ " escaped her and she played a dangerous game of hot potato with her phone before holding it steady to check the caller ID.

 **707**

 **Answer / Dismiss**

"What the-," She swiped the green phone across the screen and put the device to her ear. "How did you get my phone number?"

A rich, deep voice cackled in amusement on the other line and she frowned at the floor. " _It's a secret. Haha. No, just kidding. I got your info when I did my research."_

Her hand found it's way to her temple and she worked circles on it double time. "And by research I assume that's referring to hacking?"

" _Yes. Maybe. Who knows? It's a secret!_ " Scarlett could almost see the man on the other side of the line throwing his hands up in the air in a carefree manner. Her free hand made its way to the bridge of her nose and she pinched it tightly, hoping it'd be the equivalent of clicking her heels three times and saying there's no place like home. Unfortunately when she opened her eyes she was still in someone else's apartment, and Seven was still talking to her.

" _-ou left so quick that I didn't have time to remind you that you needed to stay in Rika's apartment. And if you could not touch anything then that'd be great."_

"That's a conundrum there," she muttered. "I'd have to know how to float if you didn't want me to touch anything."

Seven burst into raucous laughter. It was loud enough that she had to slightly pull the receiver away from her ear, wincing slightly. When he toned it down enough that she could speak again, she cleared her throat.

"Anyways, I need to go back to my apartment. There are some things that I _have_ to have with me. Although the idea of staying in an apartment of someone who passed away is kind of creepy, no offense, I'm not objecting to it."

' _Despite being against my better judgement,'_ she thought with an internally pointed stare at herself.

" _Hmm…,"_ Seven held the note, attempting to drown out what sounded suspiciously like typing. Scarlett scowled at the door, which was still partially open since she hadn't shut it behind herself in case she needed to make a quick escape, and waited for his response. If he took any longer she'd make the decision for him and just walk out right then and there.

Before her patience could reach its limit, Seven said, " _Okay, it looks like the coast is clear for now, but hurry back to Rika's apartment once you've got everything. Can't be too careful you know._ "

If she had any energy to argue with him then she would have gladly done so, and have provided several pieces of evidence to prove him wrong. But as it was the migraine was more pressing than an argument. She needed _painkillers_ …

It didn't exactly make sense to her how being in Rika's apartment would make her safer, but just as much as she wasn't willing to argue with the Mad Hacker about caution, the same could be said for this matter of safety. For now she'd deal with it just like she dealt with embarrassment at work: by shoving a cork in it.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say boss," she sighed tiredly. "I'll be back in, like, fifteen minutes."

" _Then I'll set the timer,_ " Seven laughed before a dull tone notified her that he had disconnected. She shoved the phone deep into her pocket and crossed the room to reach the door. Before Scarlett left she cast one more glance into the apartment, her hand gripping the cold metal knob tightly. There was no telling how long she'd be here.

A shiver ran up and down her spine as her gaze traveled over the work desk and she turned away, shutting the door behind her with a quiet metallic click.

* * *

 _First, I'd just like to apologize to anyone who is viewing this on mobile. Whatever looks like a glitch is actually an emoji I used to substitute for those gif things the characters use in the game. Second, holy Hannah I forgot that the prologue was really freakin' long! Once I got done with the conversation with Unknown I tried really hard to cut it down but... ^^; I promise that future chapters won't contain nearly as much script based dialogue. Anyways, this'll be my first attempt at an MM fanfic and I want to include you guys in on the action. I don't have a set pairing for this so here's where I'm gonna let **YOU GUYS CHOOSE** , kinda like in the game. You can start now sending in (votes?) now if you'd like. There are some big plans in store for this story, so I hope you'll stick around/find interest in it._

 _Special acknowledgement to Midna3452's short story "Let's Start Over" for being a good spark of inspiration for this story. Thank you._

 _Best regards,_

 _-Yopū Yuna_


	2. Avoiding Day One

Music buzzed in Scarlett's ears as she counted the company's supplies and marked down items that were low. As she went through the storage unit she would often stop to rearrange items, placing things based on alphabetical order or color depending on what she was organizing. Her co-workers often found this habit of hers highly annoying, as it made it difficult to find things when they needed it, but she had told them repeatedly that if they didn't like it then they should stop assigning her to check the stock. It was their own fault if they couldn't even listen in the first place.

Scarlett moved on to another aisle after marking down another item, proceeding to ignore an uncomfortable buzzing in her back pocket. Under normal circumstances ignoring her phone would be a _terrible, terrible_ idea, especially while at work. But after the events from the night before… Well, she preferred to continue swimming in the river of denial a little bit longer.

When she had woken up this morning, most definitely not in the place she said she would be, she had tried to pass off everything as a bad dream due to the painkillers. That delusion had been shot down like a duck in hunting season when she had checked her phone only to see that the Mystic Messenger app had changed logos to something that might actually resemble a chatting app, and that there was no way to remove it from her phone. Her contacts had been modified to accommodate the members as well, and she had also received various texts asking her questions and sending apologies.

Instead of properly dealing with them, or probably more like instead of busting down figurative doors and demanding answers, Scarlett had chosen the classic tactic of ignoring them and hoping they'd go away. Needless to say it was a blindingly obvious failure.

After the fourth buzz her phone stopped vibrating and she chanced a peek at her voicemail, pulling the device out of her pocket. The number of missed calls was enough to make her cringe. Most of them were from the guy named Seven, but scrolling through revealed that there were calls from at least everyone else in the R.F.A aside from the V guy and the woman named Jaehee. She found it disconcerting that everyone had her phone number, but already had a suspect in mind for how it had gotten leaked in the first place.

Her thumb hovered over the call back button, itching to tell the redhead off for numerous things. But she fought off the retribution seeking impulse. Now most definitely wasn't the time or the place to be fighting with someone that was _supposed_ to be apart of a _game._

A dull sigh escaped past parted lips, causing a light rattle to hum through her lungs. She coughed and then cleared her throat in annoyance. The phone returned to her back pocket and she adjusted the clipboard against her left hip, proceeding forward with her original task.

Barely a step in, however, and her work was interrupted once again.

Scarlett pitched forward when a sudden weight collided into her, chubby arms wrapping playfully around her. She managed to keep a hold of the clip, but the pen was sent bouncing and skittering from her hand. One of her headphones slipped out of her ear and slung itself over a pasty tan arm. Individual muscles spasmed from her shoulders and back where the attacker's body made contact with her own. A low hiss whistled past her teeth.

' _Damn these bruises,_ ' she swore internally.

She craned her neck back to scowl at her co-worker and friend, Cho.

"Well hello to you too, grumpy puss," Cho sang, her voice lilting like a songbird. Her grin lit up her rounded face, causing her small black eyes to squint in a misleading way. Whenever Scarlett saw her friend smile she couldn't help but think the woman looked like a plotting monkey. Even the short and innocent bob of curly black hair couldn't negate the mischievous angling of her facial features.

"Get off me," Scarlett grumbled, making a half-assed attempt to dislodge her friend's viselike grip. When it became apparent that the arrangement was non-negotiable she simply accepted Cho as a new growth and tottered over to retrieve her pen. When she tried to bend over, however, her legs threatened to collapse under her and she decided the pen could wait. While Cho may have been a bit too heavy for her to bear, it didn't really show in her looks. Often Scarlett would hear people comment about how her friend's chub made her look rather light and fluffy, like a pastry. The two of them often joked that she could make the Pillsbury boy run for his money.

Cho giggled and slid off of her back, bouncing around her in excitement. Her hair jumped up and down in a shiny cascade, reminding Scarlett of curly confetti. She rolled her shoulders as Cho continued to dance in some sort of victory, cocking her eyebrows high enough that they disappeared beyond her bang line.

Finally she bursted. "I talked to the boss and he gave the greenlight!"

A lopsided grin worked the muscles of her face and she reached out to hug Cho.

"See! I _told_ you that the boss man would have been happy to cater for you, even if you are his employee. I mean, it's your _wedding_ after all. The man would have to be nuts not to."

Aside from the fact that he'd miss out on an opportunity to gain profit from it, Scarlett saw no reason their boss would have denied catering to Cho's wedding.

"Oh hush, you." Cho snickered, roughly patting Scarlett's back. She stiffened every time, wincing slightly. Her friend didn't really notice, having moved on to discussing plans she'd heard thousands of times before.

"Now that I've got my work catering for me then this wedding can finally speed up! I'll have to go over the nitpicky details with Yeong-Gi, but the whole city should be hearing bells tolling sometime within the next couple of weeks." Suddenly Cho stopped. She turned to Scarlett with her mouth animatedly shaped like a skinny 'o' and she began bouncing again, repeatedly slapping her arm, much to Scarlett's discomfort. "Let's go to the spa sometime soon! And then we can have a sleepover and discuss things like what kind of strippers we'll invite to the bachelorette party, and what kind of dress you'll wear to the wedding! You'll be the prettiest bridesmaid _ever,_ Scarlett!"

She chuckled at her friend's outlandish ideas, fighting the urge to let the smile drop and stare at her sadly. As much as she would love to, _wanted to_ , she was less and less certain each day that she'd actually be there for her friend on her special day.

" _ **Your days are numbered.**_ "

The doctor's words echoed in her mind, rockets bouncing against walls of glass. She flicked her head to the side, mentally tossing the somber warning out so she could focus on what was happening in the present moment. Things like that were best saved for moments spent in sleepless nights.

As she opened her mouth to make a comment, perhaps a bit on the teasing side of things, her phone buzzed in her pocket again. The vibrating startled her and her immediate reaction was to whip it out and end its incessant humming. Her thumb was just about to hit the answer button when she saw the smiling icon of a devilish redhead. She glowered at Seven's picture for a moment before hitting the decline button instead. Before she could even begin to think about putting her phone away, it began vibrating again.

"Well, are you gonna answer that?" She shot Cho a stink eye before shoving the clipboard into the other woman's chest and turning her back on her friend to stalk off.

The moment she thought she was out of earshot she accepted the call and poured as much venom into her greeting as she possibly could. " _What?!_ "

The other end of the line was silent enough that she was certain she'd be able to hear a pin drop.

"Speak now or I'm hanging up. I'm in the middle of work at the moment, you know."

She heard Seven's shiver crackle over the line before he coughed and began laughing. " _Yikes! For a second there I thought you were going to come crawling out of my phone just to strangle me."_

"Wanna test and find out if I can?" It _was_ a fairly tempting idea.

" _Haha, no. Not today. Actually I was calling about the fact that you've been missing_ _ **my**_ _calls_ _ **and**_ _that you didn't go back to Rika's apartment last night like you said you would."_

Scarlett couldn't help the smug grin that twitched at the corners of her mouth. He sounded a bit annoyed about that. If there was one thing that Scarlett took a little bit of pride in, it was that she could get under people's skin to some extent, whether it was intentional or not. It was a gift that she didn't really have to hone or work at; she was just naturally a nuisance.

"Oh, sorry. I never did mention if I'd take a painkiller after I got back to _my_ apartment, or if I'd take one after I returned to Rika's apartment. Or the fact that painkillers knock me out like a light. And then when I woke up this morning I took a dip in denial and haven't come back out yet. Maybe I could see about squeezing you in sometime before six? I've got dinner with myself and I can't cancel on _that_ again."

Seven was wheezing by the time she had finished and she wondered if she had actually managed to break the poor man. Somewhere amongst his unholy noises she caught random phrases such as ' _living shitpost generator'_ and ' _embodiment of sarcasm'_. She studied her nails without much interest, mainly fighting the urge to laugh with his uncontrollable snorting.

When he had finally calmed down enough to be coherent, he said, " _Well if you would be so kind as to step out of denial, then that'd be great. You did promise that you'd come back after all, and not just to Rika's apartment. Which, by the way, I'm still expecting you to go back to._ "

She pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. Every couple of seconds she switched the weight of her body from her left leg to her right, then right to left, back and forth in mild annoyance. Of course he was still expecting her to go back, and of course the other members of the R.F.A would be expecting her to show up. And damn her for making promises she shouldn't have been making. The night before had been hectic enough that she had literally said anything to get out of the situation. And that anything had entailed promises, something that usually ended up coming back to bite her in the ass. Unfortunately for her she couldn't really see a way out of this situation. The app and contacts weren't deletable, and she couldn't afford a new phone at the moment if she tried to get rid of this one. In short, her hands were tied behind her back.

She blew a heavy breath and looked around. Her hand fell to her hip and she began pacing. Five steps forward, five steps back. It was almost a ridiculous method, but it helped clear her mind a little to think things through. While she did so Seven waited patiently for her to give him an answer.

"There's a family dinner that I'm in charge of catering at seven thirty, and that should last for about a good hour- hour and a half. Then I'll be cleaning and tallying up net profit for at least another half hour. So I should be in sometime after ten."

The faint sound of a keyboard being tapped on made it through the line and she scowled. What was he doing? Was he seriously hacking stuff while talking to her right now? And how could he talk and type at the same time? What kind of demon was he to possess that level of multitasking? The best she could manage was to not trip while carrying platters full of food, and even that was a stretch.

" _Okay, if you really mean it this time then I'll believe you. Just don't stay out too late young lady!"_

"Bite me." She regretted her choice of words the moment she heard him suck in a breath to respond. Quickly she added, "And stop blowing up my phone while you're at it!"

" _Only if you don't break your curfew._ " Scarlett could practically hear the wink in his words. She didn't know whether to gag, cringe, or mentally hang herself because of his cheesiness. Still, she had to give the guy props where props were due. It had been a while since she'd met a guy willing to put up with her quirks for as long as he's been holding out.

" _Haha, alright, alright. I'll stop holding you from work now. Talk to ya later, Lumikki!"_ Seven hung up, leaving Scarlett dumbfounded. She found it _very_ hard to believe that he didn't already know what her real name was, as him being a hacker practically entitled him to all of her information that he could get his cyber hands on. However she decided to let it slide so as to better avoid another headache.

Scarlett tucked the phone back into her pocket before groaning in frustration. If she had known that the game she had downloaded would have turned into this then she probably would have thought twice before letting her impulse get the better of her. She shook her head then turned around to return to where she had left Cho.

Cho was watching her with eyes narrowed coyly, causing Scarlett to stiffen up defensively, almost guiltily.

"What?"

" _Oh ho~_ ," Cho fluttered over gracefully and suggestively wrapped her hand around Scarlett's shoulder. She wrinkled her nose at the hand before turning to combat a sly expression with a blank face. "That was a pretty intense conversation you were having there. I'm placing my bets on a secret love affair and the two of you were having a lover's tiff!"

The forwardness of the statement alone was enough to make her facepalm. "Crimeny Cho! That could have been a customer I was talking to!"

"I don't know how many customers you say, and I quote, ' _Bite me_ ' to, but either way that's kinky." Scarlett batted Cho's hand away from her, face flushing slightly.

"You were eavesdropping?!"

Cho grinned, fluttering her eyelashes delicately before prancing out of strangling distance. "It's entirely possible that I caught some of your end of the conversation. By the way, who _is_ this mystery suitor, and will I get to meet him?"

Scarlett had begun rubbing her eyes, trying to remember the exact reason she was still friends with Cho. Yet as she thought up the answer to that question, she ended up stumbling upon a solution for the current dilemma. A wicked grin split across her face and she faced her friend, blinking rapidly to rid herself of the blurriness.

"Alright, you caught me. Remember how you were talking about a stripper for the bachelorette party?" Cho's jaw dropped before quickly morphing into her plotting monkey smile. "I just so happened to be a step ahead of you."

"No way."

The smirk on her face grew a little bit more smug. ' _Revenge of this caliber is best served unexpectedly. Check and mate, 707._ '

Besides, it wasn't like she was giving away vital information that she didn't really have anyways.

"Still doesn't explain why you're making kinky plans to meet up later, but hey, at least now I don't have to worry about hiring a stripper. What does he look like? Is he hot?" Cho bounced off and she followed after.

"I won't deny he's got some looks going for him, and that red hair definitely sticks out," she shrugged.

Cho whirled around and gripped her shoulders tightly. Scarlett fought the urge to lash out, or screech, whichever would have ended up coming first. "Oh my _god_. A redhead?! You two are _so_ together then!"

Prying the pudgy hands off, she shot Cho an exasperated look and said, "Just because he's got red hair doesn't mean we're _together_."

"Oh come on. Your favorite color is obviously red; from that scarf you wear during winter to the random trinkets you buy! A redhead would so be your type!"

"I do _not_ have 'a type'," she scoffed. Finally she managed to wriggle out of Cho's grip and continue walking, heading outside of the storage unit. "And I wouldn't just date someone simply because they were a redhead. I'm not that shallow."

Not that she'd be dating anyone right now anyways. It wouldn't be fair to them…

"Say what you will, say what you will, but I know you." Cho giggled and linked arms with her. She stared at their conjoined limbs for a moment before looking up to gaze absently ahead of her.

' _I don't think you know me as well as you think you do,_ ' she sighed inwardly. ' _But the only one to blame for that is myself._ '

And for a little bit longer she just wanted to hope that it would be for the best.

* * *

Scarlett stared at the blinking chatroom, sitting in mild discomfort on the edge of Rika's couch, in the apartment as she had promised. (Though staying in the place of a dead person's was still against her better judgement, and by all rights, was creepy.) By her feet was a green duffel bag, one she liked to use for trips that extended over a couple of days. Inside it was clothes and a blanket, hygiene products, and various forms of entertainment. There was a reason she liked to call it the three body duffel bag. Fitting all that stuff inside had been easy, and there was still room to spare for her medication and then some.

After looking around the apartment for the millionth time she finally quit procrastinating and opened the chat.

 **\- Lumikki has entered the chatroom -**

 **Yoosung:** _Oh Lumikki! There you are~_

 **Yoosung:** _I can't believe I'm talking to the new member finally!_

 **Yoosung:** _I was a little worried since I couldn't get ahold of you all day. But then Seven said you were working so I waited patiently._

 **Yoosung:** _And now here we are!_

 **Lumikki:** _lol sorry I didn't check in earlier. I was a bit busy with more than just work._

 **Lumikki:** _Last night was crazy enough that I felt like I needed to take a long dip in Denial._

 **Lumikki:** _It's not just a river in Egypt anymore folks ᕕ( •́_ _︿•_ _́ )ᕗ_

 **Lumikki:** _*badum tss*_

 **Yoosung:** _lololol_

 **Yoosung:** _Ahh… I just have so much on my mind because of you…_

 **Yoosung:** _I can't even focus on gaming! What should I do?_

"Well for starters you could not sound like you literally came from a dating sim," she muttered under her breath, eyeing his second to last line suspiciously. Even if she had finally come to terms with the fact that she was indeed no longer playing a game it didn't necessarily stop her from viewing her conversations as if she were still playing one.

Right now Yoosung was definitely striking her as a character that would fall in love too easily. The classic Romeo and Juliet syndrome. However she figured she'd give him the benefit of the doubt and not judge him too harshly. Perhaps this guy had an advanced stage of RJS, and his ability to fall in love quickly could lead him to actual true love. First she had to get to know him better for that to happen.

It still made her uneasy to think of getting close to this group of strangers, though. After having reviewed what she had missed in the last chat it had become blindingly obvious that Rika had been held on a very, very high pedestal. And when she had come tumbling down, so had the rest of the R.F.A. Even if most of them had been able to build themselves back up she wasn't sure yet if her dynamic entrance in their lives would result in a catastrophic exit that would ultimately drag them down and keep them there. If she somehow got close and became important to them…

Scarlett blinked, remembering that she still had to respond to Yoosung.

 **Lumikki:** _I hear that you're in college. What major are you studying for?_

 **Yoosung:** _ **Oh?**_

 **Yoosung:** _About that… that's um…_

 **Yoosung:** _Why don't we talk about you instead? I want to know more about you._

 **Yoosung:** *(´ヮ`)~*

"Avoiding the question, check. This is shaping up for some tragic backstory." Then again giving people that were technically supposed to be a part of a _game_ the benefit of the doubt was proving to be more of a challenge than it had first appeared.

 **Lumikki:** _I almost hesitate to respond, but what do you want to know?_

 **Yoosung:** _Anything! Everything! Whatever you want to tell me~_

 **Lumikki:** _Ah… Then I guess we'll start with something easy. My name isn't actually Lumikki. That's just my go to pen name these days._

 **Yoosung:** _Oh really? What's your name then?_

 **Yoosung:** ﴾͡๏̯͡๏﴿?

 **Lumikki:** _Tis a secret for now ;)_

 **Yoosung:** _Aw man~ You sound like Seven when you say that._

 **Lumikki:** _Really?_

 **Lumikki:** _Speaking of Seven, btw, where is he? I've got something I need to tell him._

 **Yoosung:** _He's probably working right now._

 **Lumikki:** _Oh well. Guess I'll tell him later._

 **Lumikki:** _And probably unlike Seven I'll give you a hint for my name._

 **Yoosung:** （ °□°）

 **Yoosung:** _Really?!_

 **Lumikki:** _Yep._ ｡•́ ‿ •́｡

 **Lumikki:** _The hint is that my name is a color._

The phone vibrated in her hand and a little notification popped up in the tab at the top. Her eyes widened when she saw the name.

 **Lumikki:** _Hey I'm gonna have to step out of the chat for a minute._

 **Yoosung:** _Okay. I will too then._

 **Yoosung:** _I think I'll go for a walk for a little while._

 **Lumikki:** _Have fun then._

 **Yoosung:** _Yep! Don't stay up too late, okay?_

 **Lumikki:** _Haha, okay._

"Liiieeessss." Yes, even she was not above calling herself out. If she knew herself, which she liked to think that she did, then Scarlett knew that sleep would be far off tonight unless she took something to make her fall asleep. Even with extra help she wasn't entirely certain she'd be able to sleep _well_ since she was staying in a _dead person's_ home. Call her superstitious, or someone who might let horror movies get under her skin sometimes, but that was always a bad idea.

 **Yoosung:** _Alright, bye then!_

 **\- Yoosung has left the chatroom -**

 **\- Lumikki has left the chatroom -**

Quick as could be Scarlett exited the messenger app and was in her text messages. There was a recently sent message from none other than the elusive Unknown themself. She opened the message and read it.

 **Unknown**

 _ **It'll be really fun from now on. Enjoy your time with everyone.**_

 _ **I'll go get you soon.**_

As serious as Unknown had probably meant for this to be, she couldn't help but respond the way she did with him. At this point it was practically an obligation.

 _And you said you weren't a creepy character. Guess who should have_

 _listened to me when I was handing out that character analysis quiz?_

While a response would have been nice, she hadn't been expecting one to come flying in so quickly.

 _ **This isn't a game anymore.**_

 _ **At least… not one where your actions won't result without**_

 _ **serious consequences.**_

 _Really? Oh my god! No it can't be!_

（ °□°）

 _You're saying that this is real life?! I can't believe it!_

 **(** **ㅍ** **_** **ㅍ** **)**

 _ **You'll see, eventually.**_

 _ **And when you do, you'll be in paradise with me.**_

Scarlett refrained from responding. Something about his text suggested finality, and it was eerie. A shiver ran down her spine and she turned around. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, tingling. Something, no _someone_ , had been watching her. She just knew it.

For once in her life, Scarlett hoped it was just a ghost.

* * *

 _I've entered this story into the NaNoWriMo contest so I should be working on this one more frequently ^_^ Also-_

 _I REGRET NOTHING! 707 can meet me in the pit if he wants me to rescind the stripper jibe! (((c=(°ロ°;q_

 _-Yopū Yuna_


	3. Google, Weird Thoughts, and Names

_You know, sometimes I wish I wouldn't make "resolutions" to do something because then life decides to tell me to fuck off before shoving me into a shit storm... Sorry for the late update. – Yopū Yuna_

( _P.s The voting of routes can include V and Unknown.)_

* * *

 **\- Lumikki has entered the chatroom -**

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Now that Ms. Lumikki is here, it is time we host the parties again._

 **Lumikki:** _I've been thinking about that a bit, actually. Do you have any idea when it'll be held?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Oh, you're still up?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I'm sorry, I don't have any idea. V is the one who has to make that decision._

 **Lumikki:** _Ah, I see…_

 **Jaehee:** _But what I can do is answer and explain any other questions you may have about the R.F.A._

Scarlett adjusted her grip on the phone, shaking both of her hands to rid them of the pins and needles. Of course she had a few questions, well more than a few, but she wasn't certain of just where to start. And she knew for a fact that some questions would go unanswered, for Jaehee wouldn't have one.

Her thumb hovered over the digital keyboard, tapping on it every couple of seconds as she struggled to form a sentence.

 **Lumikki:** _Could you tell me a little bit more about Rika? What kind of person was she like?_

If she was going to be held up to someone who very well might have been a god to these people then the least she could do was find out what the person was like.

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Rika was a bright young woman who managed a charity business._ _ **This**_ _charity business to be exact._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Her charity involved many things, but the most central project was hosting parties in both her and V's name._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Aside from that I did not know Rika personally, so I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you that would satisfy your curiosity. Someone who knew her better, like V or Yoosung, would be able to give you a better answer._

"That's a fairly vague answer in and of itself," she muttered. "Maybe you might not have really known her, but I doubt talking to the two people that were affected most by her death will get me anywhere either."

It hadn't really escaped her notice that V hedged around anything to do with Rika. Of the only chat that he had participated in then she had gotten the general vibe that he wished to avoid talking about his deceased lover, and if he did actually say anything about her it was always an airy response that provided no substance to the person that was supposedly the love of his life. And as for Yoosung… the guy focused only on the positive side of his cousin. As if that were the only part he cared about. Or perhaps the only part of her he actually knew. But either way they both loved Rika and would most likely end up repeating each other over and over again.

' _She was a good person.'_

Scarlett shook her head and resumed participating in the chat.

 **Jaehee Kang:** _If you can fill Rika's position, though, then maybe we'll be able to host these parties again._

 **Lumikki:** _So basically Rika was a host/party coordinator, right? And that's all I would have to do then?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _In a sense, yes._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Rika mostly dealt with all the guests, choosing who to invite and who not to invite. She was an expert in dealing with people._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _You said that you work for a catering company, correct?_

 **Lumikki:** _Yep, Shin-Mi Catering._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I am only making a guess, but I think that your's and Rika's job are not too far off from each other._

 **Lumikki:** _In a way I guess you're right._

 **Lumikki:** _As an employee I mostly get assigned to deal with a few customers at a time and help them plan around their needs, wants, and desires. Then I just deliver the items, help set up, and basically act as a waitress afterwards._

 **Lumikki:** _I can't be called the host since I'm not the one who started the party though ^^;_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Of course. It sounds like you make a rather enjoyable living._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Perhaps we can, after an official date has been set, contact your company and have them cater for the party?_

 **Lumikki:** _That's… actually not a bad idea._

 **Lumikki:** _You're pretty clever Jaehee~_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I was merely thinking about the success of the party._

"Geez, do you not know how to accept a compliment?" Scarlett didn't really mean any harm by her question, not that anyone could hear it, merely intending for it to be more of a simple observation. Jaehee struck her as a person who did not understand the concept of praise simply by her one response alone. It was slightly saddening. Did her boss just not know how to hand out compliments? Or at the very least show conformation with a job well done?

Wait, wasn't her boss the trust fund/crazy cat mom guy? Jumin Han?

 **Jaehee Kang:** ಠ_ಠ

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I know this is off topic, but Mr. Han left his cat with me and it is getting fur_ _ **everywhere**_.

Yes. Definitely the crazy cat mom guy.

 **Lumikki:** _Haha, I take it you're not really a fan of cats then?_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _I can tolerate everything but the cat hair. 'C-hair' for short._

 **Lumikki:** _Mm yeah. Cats aren't entirely my thing either. I mean, they're cute and all, but I'm more of a fan of smaller animals. Rodents to be precise._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Rodents?_

 **Lumikki:** _Especially hamsters! Check out this majestic lil' dude~_

Scarlett quickly looked for an option to send a picture and was rather gleefully delighted when she found it. Without so much as a hint of hesitation she found a good picture of a fat, white hamster wearing a hat and uploaded it to the chatroom.

 **Lumikki:** _See? It's absolutely adorable!_

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Well… I suppose that at least their fur wouldn't get all over everything._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Ah, I'm sorry but I have to go now. If you'll excuse me._

 **Lumikki:** _Good luck with that cat._

 **Jaehee Kang:** _Yes, thank you._

 **\- Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom -**

The phone fell out of her hand and landed on her chest the moment Jaehee had left the chatroom and Scarlett sighed loudly. Nobody ever really seemed to get her appreciation for hamsters…

She rubbed her eyes and stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling from her vantage point on the plush couch. It was an eggshell white, a color that was maddening on it's own for its plainness. It was unlike her own, a light cream color which made her feel warm and comfortable. Still, it was better to be staring at a different ceiling on a couch that wasn't hers rather than from a bed that wasn't hers. There was no way she was going to sleep in Rika's room while she was here, that was just asking for spooky shenanigans to happen. And quite frankly, Scarlett didn't feel like waking up to some creepy warning written in blood.

Scarlett snorted and then rolled onto her side, catching the phone before it could do a nose dive off the couch. For now though all she had to distract her were her own thoughts. It was late enough that she didn't think anyone else would be up; Jaehee had merely been a lucky coincidence.

Everything had moved too fast for her to get a grip on it, but now that everything was slowing down, she was beginning to move too fast. And all of it had happened within twenty-four hours. There was so much to contemplate about the situation, but not enough brain space to compute any of it. Literally everything about it seemed too impossible to be true. Honestly, what were the odds of her picking out a random game only for it to be something that was occurring right now in the present?

Just thinking about it was enough to spark fires in the back of her mind and start a riot of pain in protest.

Reality was too complicated for her to deal with right now. Then again would a world of fiction really be any better? Well, at least then the events happening there would actually seem plausible and there'd be no need to question anything. Maybe she'd end up being the kind of MC she loathed, and would have all the answers laid out in order and wrapped up in pretty bows for her. But that was just wishful thinking, and Scarlett had given up putting much stock into something like that the moment she had been told she wouldn't have a future to look forward to. It didn't stop her from delving into that land every once in awhile, however, but… _God_ being real was such a pain.

"Wait a minute!" Scarlett quickly sat upright, only to fall back with a wave of dizziness. Seconds later she was back at it again, propping herself up on her elbow and accessing the internet from her phone. "Speaking of being real…"

Her thoughts had led her to an idea, which left a new mystery that no one cared about solving, but she'd be damned if it didn't just get solved. The fact that she was real, and the people she supposed she'd have to talk with on a regular basis were real, then maybe she'd do a little research. At least two of the members should have been easy to gather info about, as they were supposedly relatively popular with the public.

First up was Mr. Beauty-and-Grace-his-looks-would-probably-punch-someone-in-the-face.

And boy were the results instant.

There was a website for a fanbase, reviews for musicals he had performed in, fanart, and worst of all, _fanfiction_. That option was enough to make her want to be flung into the sun just to make sure she had been cleansed. Fictional works about real people gave her the creeps. Especially anything that involved {LEMONS} in the title or the description.

Scarlett shuddered and moved on. She skimmed through articles detailing some of his latest performances, learning about the kind of characters he played and just how convincing he was. As mildly tempting as it was to check out the fanbase, she refrained from doing so just to preserve her mental image of Zen _and_ what little sanity she had left. If the thought of fanfiction mortified her then there'd be no telling just what exactly she'd find looking through the fanbase. Sometimes she actually did know how to keep her impulses under control, and for that alone she was proud of herself.

Finally she wound up on youtube to find the infamous video that had been claimed as the official jumpstart of the albino's career. Scarlett clicked on it without any expectations to keep her tethered down. She couldn't say if that was a mistake or if it was something she should be grateful for.

If she had to pick from one of the many mental images that ran through her mind as she listened, she would have gone insane with the tie breaker between ice tea and honey. On one hand his voice totally could have been the honey, drizzling down from a spoon in thick, gooey, delectable drops; the lighting hitting it just right to create a warm glow. But on the other hand it was also ice tea in a pitcher on a fine summer's day, so cool and crisp, with just the right amount of sugar, lemon, and mint mixed in. It was a voice that was tantalizingly sweet and passionate to her ears.

Though it did appear that Zen had a thing for his own looks, a borderline narcissistic personality if she had to say (except he wasn't very mean about it), but Scarlett would rather keep his voice like Ursula kept Ariel's and call it good. Before long she was hunting and searching for more of his voice with a keen interest being her driving force.

It was about another good, long hour later that Scarlett finally remembered her original objective.

"Damn that youtube vortex," she muttered. The phone screen was blurry, as if it were altered with that one filter. What was it called? Ah yes, _soft charismatic glow._ It didn't matter how much she rubbed her eyes or how fast she blinked, it never really went away. Scarlett supposed, that, if this were a dream, this would be the time to realize it and wake up. Of course, she was perfectly aware of reality. There was no such thing as a soft charismatic glow filter in a place where truths were harsh.

She tilted her head back and stared at the dark ceiling, faintly illuminated by the light of her phone, and cast an arm over her face. God, it was too early to be thinking this, even if it was technically one in the morning. But if she was thinking along the lines of technicalities then she was already at the beginning of the new day so therefore it really _was_ too early and–

Sometimes she wished that she would just shut up.

No longer really motivated to go look for the trust fund dude Scarlett abandoned the internet in favor of examining her newly acquired contacts. After counting them out, altogether she had seven new contacts, including the creep Unknown and mysterious Mr. V. She contemplated messaging someone, but tossed the idea. Probably none of them had her insomniac-induced sleeping schedule. Plus she had no idea what she would talk about with them anyways. It's not like she could just pop in with a meme and seal the deal of friendship. Well… it might work on _one_ of them anyways. If she really wanted to go so far for a conversation, Scarlett could probably get the trust fund guy with cat videos. But that still left her with the problem of how to continue the conversation after establishing that there was one in the first place.

"Oh woe is me~ Woe is me~." Scarlett gave a low, melodramatic moan in pity for her own inadequacy at conversing like a normal human being.

Scarlett stared bleary eyed at the contacts. Her attention was continuously caught by the bright, candy apple red of 707's hair. It reminded her an awful lot of what Cho had said to her before, how red was her _type_. She couldn't help but snort at the thought of something like that. Her? Have a type? It wasn't really something she had put much effort into thinking about, especially not after being diagnosed with a killer disease, but she just couldn't really see the connection between the color red and Cho's reasoning. Sure she liked the color, it could be considered her favorite, but that didn't mean she would use it to judge the kind of person she would like. Redhead or not, knowing the personality of the love interest was more important to her.

She sighed deeply, eyes tiredly roaming over the hacker's image. A smirk lazily crawled up her face as she thought about how Cho would fawn over Seven's appearance. She would definitely agree with her then that he would make for a _great_ prospective stripper. Cho's voice was already firing off innuendos in the back of her mind, making her sleep deprived mind far too amused for the time of night it was.

" _If he can hack firewalls and strip binary code then who knows just what_ else _those hands can strip._ "

Her hand flew up and hit herself in the face _for_ herself, grinning madly. "Oh god why do I have to know my best friend so well?"

It was too hilarious, and when she peeked at Seven's picture between her fingers it was all over for her once again. Somewhere in her jumbled mess of a thought process an idea popped up. It was dumb idea. Absolutely, ridiculously, _incredibly dumb_ , but it was funny as hell.

Clicking on the contact, Scarlett went into the info editor and tapped Seven's name. Her maniac grin turned wicked, and for several minutes she was sidetracked with incessant snickering, finding her own blunt wit too good to be a meme. When she finally managed to get a hold of herself the deed was done, and there was no way she was going back on it now.

The contact that was once formerly 707 was no longer so, now donning a new name while bearing the hope of the rising future, the hacker rose from the ashes into greatness. For lo and behold his name had become…

 _Prospective Stripper~( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

She was torn between asking herself what she had done and 'lord have mercy on her, for she was a lowly sinful meme', but all that came out was a very undignified snort. Not that anything she had been doing for the last ten minutes had been dignified, but hey, it wasn't like anyone could see her right now, right?

Well, maybe the ghost of R.F.A's past could see her, but she'd rather not think about that.

Wiping away a few stray tears, Scarlett finally managed to turn off her phone and set it aside. The room was plunged into pitch black and finally the silence caught up to her. She turned on her side, and suddenly a new wave of exhaustion washed over her. Her left arm dangled off the couch, to which she used her finger to absently trace patterns on the floor. Eventually her eyes grew heavy enough that they shut on their own.

Before Scarlett knew it, sleep had wrapped its comforter around her and whisked her off to a realm of fiction and wishful make believe.

* * *

 _Now the real question is, how sleep deprived was Yopū to have come up with this chapter? Probably enough that when I come back to read this chapter later I'll cringe and regret my decisions. Feedback and Concrit would be lovely~ Thank you~_


	4. A Note

_Hello to all that have read this story or have just read this story. My motivation to write as well as my motivation in general has been very vacant as of late and I find myself in a bit of a predicament. Specifically, I cannot find it in myself to carry on with this story, as is evident in the fact that I haven't touched upon it since last year. I apologize to all the reviewers that were kind enough to put in a vote as to whom Scarlett should end up with, and it appears that I was correct in suspecting that Seven would be a popular choice since I was leading up to a bunch of angst. However, even though I don't plan on continuing this story I find it such a waste to give up the idea itself―therefore I am going to put this story up for adoption._

 _If you're interested in taking on this story and continuing it then please PM me and I will hand it over to you as well as give you the rest of my half baked ideas for what I had in mind for this story. What you do with it after that is up to you._

 _It's kinda sad having to give this up, but I really just can't will myself to write anything for this anymore. I really do hope someone else can do something better with this though. At least then what I started won't have been a complete waste..._

 _Best regards,_

 _―Yopū Yuna_


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